UPDATE: 14-Year-Old Girl Confirmed As First Hurricane Laura Fatality In Louisiana
New details have been shared on Hurricane Laura that made landfall overnight, leaving a trail of devastation over southwestern Louisiana. According to local news reports, a little girl was the first confirmed fatality in Louisiana from the Hurricane.
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Deputy Chief of Staff Christina Stephens announces the sad news in a grim tweet just after 8 a.m: “@LouisianaGov says he got the report of the first fatality from Hurricane Laura in Louisiana. A 14-year-old Leesville girl who died when a tree fell on her home. We do expect that there could be more fatalities.” As of right now, the young girl is the only known death from Hurricane Laura’s aftermath. No further details on the victim was shared.
While speaking with CNN, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said Thursday morning: “We have about 1,500 people engaged in search and rescue moving into Lake Charles area now,” Edwards added, “We’re also going to have to do some of this search and rescue work all (the) way up the western side of state as the storm moves north.”
Laura slammed into Cameron Parish around 1 a.m. Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane with 150 mph winds. It moved through Calcasieu Parish and Lake Charles before heading north through DeRidder and Alexandria and on the way to Shreveport. Edwards said Hurricane Laura has caused southwestern Louisiana “extensive damage” after landfall.
We will continue to keep you updated when more details have been shared.
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